Main menu

Jeff Gordon proof that one bad race can make Chase an uphill climb

October 1, 2012

Finishing third and second in consecutive weeks and losing ground in the Chase is a real head-scratcher to Jeff Gordon. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

On Monday, Autoweek documented that, despite two consecutive top-three finishes, Jeff Gordon has actually lost ground in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings. True, he’s moved from 12th in points to 10th, but he’s still further from his fifth NASCAR championship than he was before finishing third at Loudon two weeks ago and second at Dover last weekend.

Here’s how it happened:

Gordon started the 10-race playoff last among the 12 Chase drivers, 12 points behind leader Denny Hamlin. After a throttle-related crash at Chicagoland Speedway left him 35th at the finish, Gordon was still 12th-ranked, a daunting 47 points behind race winner and new points leader Brad Keselowski.

A week later, Gordon finished third behind winner Hamlin and runner-up Johnson at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Even so, he gained only two points and left Loudon 45 points behind Johnson, the new series leader. He lost six points to Hamlin and one to Johnson at Loudon, and went to Dover still a dead-last 12th in points.

Here’s where things get dicey.

Gordon finished second at Dover, behind only Keselowski and two spots ahead of Johnson and six ahead of Hamlin. For Gordon, the problem was that he lost four points to Keselowski and gained only two on second-ranked Johnson and six on third-ranked Hamlin. Since Keselowski started Dover 44 points ahead of Gordon and gained four—47-43 points—Gordon’s second-place at Dover International Speedway was pretty much wasted.

“Pretty much” wasted, but not totally. His second-place, combined with Matt Kenseth’s 35th and Greg Biffle’s 16th, moved Gordon from 12th in points to 10th. He’s only six points from seventh place and 16 points from fifth . . . but still 48 behind Keselowski.

For Gordon and crew chief Alan Gustafson, this Chase is becoming a lament of “what if.” Gordon was running well, near the top-five, when he crashed at Chicagoland. If he’d finished anywhere near the top-five and earned, say, 35 to 39 points instead of the nine he got, Gordon would be fourth- or fifth-ranked with seven races remaining. Given that scenario, you’d be foolish to bet against him.

But, as NASCAR-watchers often say, you can’t change one result without changing them all. At the end of the day, it is what it is . . . a painful reality Gordon knows all too well.